Various air humidifiers for respirators and/or incubators have been proposed, which are more or less complicated in terms of design or handling, or are associated with the risk that the water reserve used becomes contaminated with microbes due to their design.
A prior-art air humidifier or air moistener has a simple hot plate with a water reservoir in a pot-shaped container, through which the breathing gas is passed and thus humidified. This prior-art concept has, however, the drawback that the total amount of water must at first be heated up before the humidifier can deliver its full moistening capacity. This may take up to 30 minutes, so that a patient connected to the moistener may not be sufficiently humidified during this time. It is also disadvantageous in this arrangement that the water may become contaminated with microbes over time because the temperatures are not high enough.
A breathing moistener with an automatic water refilling means and an electrically heated evaporator has become known from DE 10 2005 000 690 B3, in which the evaporator has a tubular housing, which is filled with a porous material. One side of the housing is in liquid connection with the water refilling means, and the other side is in connection with an evaporator chamber through which breathing gas flows. This breathing moistener is characterized in that it is equipped with a certain, porous sintered glass or ceramic in a first, lower, unheated area, and is equipped with a certain, porous sintered metal in a second, upper, heated area.
Another breathing moistening system appears from DE 102 34 811 C1, in which the user must only refill the water reserve for one night into a container for a home respirator. The drawback of this arrangement is that not all the parts that come into contact with the water can be removed and cleaned in a simple manner.